The Department of Education is a United States executive department established in 1980. The department was formed to promote educational excellence and ensure equal opportunity for public schooling.[1] The department is led by the current Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.

The department employed 4,400 employees in 2013.[1] The operating budget for fiscal year 2013 was $65.7 billion.[2] The United States education industry was estimated at about $1.15 trillion in 2011-2012. Federal contributions to elementary and secondary education come to about 10.8%, including the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services' Head Start and the Department of Agriculture's School Lunch program. The rest of the funding comes from state, local and private sources.[3]

History

Education in the U.S. is primarily the responsibility of states and local districts. This is according to the Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights, United States Constitution because the United States Constitution does not mention any role for the federal government in education. The federal department is intended to assist the states and was originally was created in 1867 to help the states set up school systems by gathering information about teaching, schools and teachers. The current Department of Education was established by Congress in 1980. It united several existing offices across different agencies into a Cabinet level agency located in the executive branch. Over the years the location of the department in the government and its name has changed several times, and its scope, number of personnel and budget have greatly increased.
The department's mission of fostering educational excellence and equal access arose out of the cultural and political events in the post World War II era. The National Defense Education Act (NDEA), the first comprehensive federal education law, was passed by Congress in 1958 in response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik during the Cold War. The department added its "public access" mission in response to anti-poverty and civil rights legislation of the 1960s and 1970s.

The number of employees and budget have grown from 2,100 employees and a budget of $1.5 billion in 1965 to 4,400 employees and $68 billion budget in 2013. Although the federal government provides only about 12 percent of the overall education spending of $1.15 trillion, the role of the federal government in setting education policy has grown considerably over the last several decades. The department implements laws passed by Congress and administers grants to states for certain programs, such as the No Child Left Behind,Race to the Top and Title One School Improvement Grants.[1][4][5]
The following is a list of important dates in the history of federal role in education in the United States:[3][6]

1862: First Morrill Act provided the first federal aid for higher education by donating land for setting up colleges [7]

1890: Second Morrill Act gave the Office authority to establish a support system for land-grant colleges and universities

1958: National Defense Education Act (NDEA) supported loans for college students, improved science, technology and foreign language support in elementary and secondary schools and provided fellowships in response to the Cold War

1964: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination based on race, color or national origin in public schools

1965: Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act gave federal aid to schools in poor rural and urban areas

Coordinates the processing and placement for all appointments for non–career and advisory council positions.

Responds to appropriate inquiries concerning the Secretary's views and positions.

Reviews communications going to the Secretary for signature or information to assure that the Secretary's specific interests, viewpoints, and policy are properly reflected.

Prepares and coordinates the preparation of all speeches and comments for the Secretary's use, and arranges for all substitutes when the Secretary is unable to be present at a function external to the Department.

Carries out priority assignments and special projects for the Secretary.

Coordinates and conducts, in cooperation with the Office of Inspector General, the development of advance security planning and surveys involving risk analysis for the Secretary's speaking engagements and travel, and provides a security presence at all official social functions attended by the Secretary.[8]

Race to the Top was the seminal policy of Secretary Arne Duncan's Department of Education term. It was a reform designed to induce competition among states and school districts for federally allocated grants. Duncan argued that the incentive to attain Federal grant money and the resulting competition would spur innovation and improve student achievement. The program was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and had an initial budget of $4.35 billion. To become eligible, states needed to satisfy a "Common Core" of achievement standards. States proposed sweeping reform objectives and then submit grant proposals for programs they believe would achieve the objectives outlined. Proposals were measured against a scoring criteria, and grants were awarded. The Department of Education then measured states' progress towards their target objectives as the grant renewal process proceeded. Several states were unable to meet proposed targets in Race to the Top funded programs. As a result, grant allocation slowed significantly after three initial rounds. In 2012, the Department of Education began a new grant allocation round -- Race to the Top-District -- in which school districts, rather than state school systems, may apply for Race to the Top program grants.[10]

Common Core

The Race to the Top Common Core Standards were developed by the National Association of Governors and the Council of Chief State School Officers. They were "informed by the highest, most effective models from states across the country and countries around the world and provide teachers and parents with a common understanding of what students are expected to learn" in order to "provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce." Forty-five states and the District of Columbia, along with four territories, adopted Common Core Standards. Developed specifically for English Language Arts and Mathematics instruction, "the Standards are (1) research and evidence based, (2) aligned with college and work expectations, (3) rigorous, and (4) internationally benchmarked."[11]

Grant criteria

Grants are rewarded based on these scores and subsequent rankings:[12]

Opposing viewpoints

Critics argued that the Race to the Top funding model would take resources from already struggling school systems and create vast disparities in achievement. Supporters maintained that only a "small but significant" portion of Race to the Top funds would go to states with the "best, homegrown plans for education reform," and that absent these incentives, the status-quo Federal funding model would continue to fail students by ignoring innovation.[13]

Other opponents questioned whether these reforms could adequately induce innovation. They saw Race to the Top as evidence of "cartel federalism" in line with the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind policy. They did not believe reform would be achieved by further centralization of standards because “the ends of the educational system are still set by the same small group of officials, who are protected from competition.”[14]

Supporting viewpoints

American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten supported Race to the Top, but in May of 2013, she called for a moratorium on full implementation:

“

Done right, Common Core standards will 'lead to a revolution in teaching and learning' that puts critical thinking, problem solving and teamwork ahead of rote memorization and endless test-taking, Weingarten said. Done wrong, 'they will end up in the overflowing dustbin of abandoned reforms, with people throwing up their hands, believing that public schools are too broken to save.[8]

Supporters also pointed out that Race to the Top incentivized states to design and pursue serious reforms before any money was handed out. The competition for potential grants induced reforms to improve instruction in both quality and kind across the board, not just among states who ultimately receive grants.[16]

Results

Race to the Top grants recipients were announced in three initial rounds.[17][18][19]

Race to the Top grant allocations slowed significantly after the first three rounds as many states faced delayed implementation of promised reforms.[20]

In 2012, the Department of Education announced a new round of grant allocation -- Race to the Top-District -- in which individual school districts and charter school programs would be eligible for grants. Sixteen grant winners were selected in 2012. A second round of Race to the Top-District grants will be allocated, and in October 2013, 16 finalists for were announced.[21][22]

Debate

Despite 45 states and four territories formally adopting Race to the Top's Common Core, public backlash against the new standards became a frequent occurance. On September 19, 2013, a group of parents in California protested the state's adoption of Common Core when Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited their city.[23] Duncan later drew criticism in November 2013 when he described the opposition to Common Core as "white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were, and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were," to a group of state school superintendents.[24] On November 18, 2013, parents in South Carolina and New York chose to keep their children home from school as part of a "National Common Core Protest Day" to demonstrate opposition to Common Core's "one-size-fits all curriculum" and standardized testing methods.[25][26] On December 8, 2013, the Buffalo Teachers Federation protested outside the residence of a state education regent in response to Common Core implementation and its emphasis on continually testing students.[27]

In response to the public outcry, several states delayed implementation or rescinded adoption of the standards entirely. The Alabama state school board voted to revoke their agreement to adhere to the Common Core standards on November 14, 2013. However, their existing state standards were still in line with Common Core.[28] Alabama is the only state to pull away entirely from its commitment to the Common Core standards. However, others such as Pennsylvania and Indiana have chosen to halt implementation.[29][30] Louisiana chose to delay Common Core's accountability measures for two years, while Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Georgia and Michigan chose to delay or abandon Common Core testing.[31][32][33][34][35]

Additionally, both Utah and Florida withdrew from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers and Smarter Balanced Assessment consortium, although both states plan to continue Common Core implementation.[36][37] In Ohio, Representative Andrew Thompson introduced House Bill 237 to the Ohio House of Representatives in order to prevent the state from implementing Common Core.[38]

Issues

College loan rates

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Department of Education will make $127 billion in profit from higher education student loans. Higher rates were expected to begin with the 2015-2016 academic year.[39] Secretary of Education Arne Duncan argued, "It’s actually neither accurate nor fair to characterize the student loan program as making a profit," in July 2013, claiming the funds are used to lower the department's cost to taxpayers.[40][39]

Racial inequality patterns

The department's Office for Civil Rights conducted research on all 97,000 public schools in the United States and discovered several racial disparities ranging from preschool through high school.[41] According to the study the following findings were made:

“

Access to preschool. About 40% of public school districts do not offer preschool, and where it is available, it is mostly part-day only. Of the school districts that operate public preschool programs, barely half are available to all students within the district.

Suspension of preschool children. Black students represent 18% of preschool enrollment but 42% of students suspended once, and 48% of the students suspended more than once.

Access to advanced courses. Eighty-one percent (81%) of Asian-American high school students and 71% of white high school students attend high schools where the full range of math and science courses are offered (Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II, calculus, biology, chemistry, physics). However, less than half of American Indian and Native-Alaskan high school students have access to the full range of math and science courses in their high school. Black students (57%), Latino students (67%), students with disabilities (63%), and English language learner students (65%) also have less access to the full range of courses.

Access to college counselors. Nationwide, one in five high schools lacks a school counselor; in Florida and Minnesota, more than two in five students lack access to a school counselor.

Retention of English learners in high school. English learners make up 5% of high school enrollment but 11% of high school students held back each year.[8]

In President Barack Obama's 2015 budget request, a new $300 million competition was added to the Race to the Top program rewarding schools using data-driven and creative solutions to improve their failing status.[41]

Obama administration

Note: 2014 only represents the Department's budget request, not an enacted budget.

Employment

The Best Places to work in the Federal Government is a website that tracks workforce trends in federal agencies. According to their analysis, from 2005-2011, the Department of Education has gained an average of 26 jobs per year.[44]

Sequestration

While Secretary Duncan suggested the cuts would result in furloughs, a May 10, 2013 memo stated no furloughs were necessary.[45]

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